take on

verb

took on; taken on; taking on; takes on

transitive verb

1

a

: to begin to perform or deal with : undertake

took on new responsibilities

b

: to contend with as an opponent

took on the neighborhood bully

2

: engage, hire

3

a

: to assume or acquire as or as if one's own

the city's plaza takes on a carnival air

—W. T. LeViness

b

: to have as a mathematical domain or range

what values does the function take on

intransitive verb

: to show one's feelings especially of grief or anger in a demonstrative way

she cried, and took on like a distracted body

—Daniel Defoe

Synonyms

• meet
• face
• encounter

Examples of take on in a Sentence

will take on his chief opponent in the next political debate

decided to take her on as store manager

Recent Examples on the Web

Red-hot Canada will take on scrappy and confident Guatemala in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon. —Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025

When your lover is also your best friend, your relationship takes on new meaning. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025

Summitt’s fearless approach — taking on anyone, anywhere — kept Tennessee in the spotlight, with Parker as the undisputed headliner. —Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2025

On the other side of the bracket, the United States takes on Costa Rica in the quarters on Sunday, just after Canada meets with Guatemala. —Martin Rogers, New York Times, 28 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for take on

• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon
• chitosan
• cynodon
• denouement
• deuteron
• echelon

Kids Definition

take on

verb

1

: to struggle with as an opponent

2

: employ entry 1 sense 2

took on more workers

3

: to acquire (as an appearance or quality) as one's own

take on weight

4

: to make an unusual show of one's feelings especially of grief or anger

don't take on so